Nights filled with Terrors
by Savvy Sammy-13
Summary: Sophie Romero, the daughter of Alex Romero, made it to her senior year of high school without experiencing the terrors of White Pine Bay or becoming entangled in its drama. But now that her father's partner has become an enemy, she becomes close with the Bates family and one of its members especially. OC/Dylan
1. Chapter 1

Sophie frowned as her fingers clawed into the emptiness of her purple cloth wallet.

"I swear I had a twenty," she looked back up from her wallet at the cashier and then reached to pat her back pockets.

The man shrugged his shoulders.

"Shit. This is embarrassing," Sophie felt her cheeks burn as she reached back for the Hershey bar and box of tampons that she'd sat on the counter. "I'll just put this back."

The older man ringing her up did not seem fazed by her embarrassment. He immediately went to work cancelling the sale on his register, and Sophie lowered her eyes.

She gritted her teeth as she scooped the candy bar and box of tampons back off the counter and turned on her heels, attempting to avoid the faces of the few people who had stepped in line behind her.

She tried to recall where she'd lost the twenty as she headed back to the safety of the back of the store. Maybe someone had taken it?

"Hey everything alright?"

Sophie stopped to avoid crashing into her dad's partner, Zack Shelby.

"Hey, yeah, no big deal," she brushed past him, heading further back into the store, wishing that the box of tampons in her hands would just melt into her. She hadn't even seen him while she was shopping—not that she would've approached him if she had.

"I can get that for you," he called from behind her, and Sophie knew he was following her. "I owe your dad a few bucks anyway."

Sophie stopped but did not turn back to face him. She shook her head.

"No, I have money. I just forgot it," she started walking again, but he hurried to step in front of her.

"Here, let me get it for you. Seriously." he held out his hands.

Sophie searched his brown eyes for a moment. Of course he was so eager to help now.

Rather than argue with him over a box of tampons and a Hershey bar, she passed both objects to him and lowered her eyes again.

"Thanks," she muttered.

"No problem. You need anything else?"

She shook her head.

"Alright well I'll meet you out front then?"

Sophie avoided Zack's eyes as she headed out of the store. She stopped against a lamppost outside and leaned her side against it.

Her eyes searched the street in front of her and they fell on Zack's police car parallel parked a little ways up the street.

She tiredly ran a hand through her straight dark hair and wiped at her lips absentmindedly, it was a bad habit. She either chewed at her lips or self consciously wiped at them, especially when she was nervous.

The last person she had wanted to run into was her dad's partner.

Sophie pulled at the sleeves of her maroon and white sweater so that the sleeves covered her hands. The wind was getting chilly and it seemed like it was just getting stronger.

A few minutes passed as she listened to people exit the store behind her. It had been pretty busy on lunch hour. She finally heard his voice behind her.

"Here you go."

Sophie turned slowly and took the small bag from him without making eye contact.

"Thanks," She murmured.

Sophie slid the bag into her fairly large turquoise purse but pulled the candy bar out.

"I must have left my money in my other purse. Seriously, I'll pay you back," she grumbled as she fiddled with the wrapper.

"No, no, don't worry about it. It's cool. I owed your dad. Could we talk?" He asked cooly.

Sophie unwrapped her candy bar and pretended for a moment that he hadn't even spoken. She didn't want to talk to him. She only wanted to go back home. She took a bite of her candy and then looked up at him as she chewed.

"There's nothing to talk about Zack," she responded nonchalantly.

"No there really is. You didn't give me a chance the other night and-"

"Don't worry. I haven't told my dad," she interrupted him.

He reached up to scratch his head. "It wasn't right what Summers did. He-"

"I don't get it…You and him?" she demanded. She could feel her anger bubbling back to the top.

"There is no me and him, well not usually," Zack stated defensively. "Here c'mon, let's go sit in my car. It's getting chilly and you don't have a jacket," Zack tried.

Sophie slung her falling purse strap back over her shoulder.

"I lost a lot of respect for you," she muttered.

Shelby's face slackened. "Soph,"

"You only stepped in when you realized who I was. Before you realized that I was your __partner's daughter__ , you thought it was funny."

He looked around nervously before opening his mouth to answer her. "I was off duty, I was drinking, So was Keith."

"It's no excuse," Sophie turned from him but he reached out and grabbed her arm.

Sophie jerked her arm away immediately and was surprised that he let her go.

He glanced around them nervously before meeting her eyes. "I'm not trying to cause a scene," he growled.  
She stared back into the brown eyes of White Pine Bay's golden boy. But this time there was anger in his eyes. His tone shocked her.

Something about him had changed over the years…or maybe she'd just grown up and realized he wasn't that golden boy.

"I wasn't going to let him do anything…to you or anyone for that matter," Zack gritted through his teeth.

"Sure…Sure okay," Sophie shrugged him off rudely.

"Sophie, hey. What kind of man do you think I am? Besides, I'm an officer," he lowered his voice.

Sophie rewrapped the chocolate bar and slid it into her purse, ignoring him.

"What were you doing there anyway? I feel like that's why you haven't told your dad," he said quickly. "How many times has he told you to stay away from that part of town, especially at night."

"It doesn't matter why I was there. It matters that you let Keith put his damn hands all over me," she snapped. It was still a touchy subject for her that she had even ended up there.

Zack glanced around nervously again as Sophie raised her voice.

"It was dark," Zack gritted through his teeth.

"I recognized __you__. You didn't even step in until I screamed your name," she hissed. She began walking away from him, but he followed.

"Listen, Soph, I know it's no excuse, but Keith is upset. He got grabby. He shouldn't have. In no way was it right. But he's upset because he lost his house and that motel to the bank. You know some people just moved in right? He aint the best guy in the world but he wouldn't have hurt you."

Sophie nodded. "Alright, whatever. Water under the bridge right?"

"And you're not gonna tell Romero?"

"That you almost let Keith Summers…," she stopped in her tracks and stared back at him. "No."

"I talked to him. I promise," Zack answered. "He knows he's gotta straighten up. That's the whole reason I went and talked with him."

"Whatever," Sophie turned from Zack and continued down the sidewalk in front of the little shops that she usually visited.

"Hey why aren't you in school?"

Sophie stopped in her tracks. "Why were you at the docks that night?"

She waited a brief second for a response and then began walking again.

She wasn't satisfied until she'd walked past a few of them without hearing Zack behind her.

The events of two nights ago replayed in her mind over and over again as she walked toward the town's little playground. Zack was right, she shouldn't' have been there. But why was he there?

She'd only been there because she'd had a fight with Todd on the way home from his friend's party. He was mad at her because he saw her talking to a few guys from school. She was pretty sure they were over. She didn't know if she could forgive him now. She'd had a few drinks and he'd threatened to drop her off in the middle of nowhere. Being her stubborn self, she'd gotten out of the car, determined to walk because he'd brought it up. And he actually left her there. He didn't try to stop was when she ran into Keith and Zack by the was chilly that night and she went that way because it was a bit of a short cut home. She'd heard laughter before she even got close. What she hadn't expected though was being catcalled from across the docks and then being chased by the catcaller whom she recognized as Keith the moment he grabbed her.

She shuddered at the thought of what may have happened had Zack not been there.

When she screamed his name, he immediately came to her rescue, shoving Keith to the ground and yelling at him. But before that, he'd laughed and said some things she could only take one way.

It was those words and his unwillingness to help at first that made her so unappreciative of his help.


	2. Chapter 2

Sophie managed to keep her distance from both Keith and Zack as the next week rolled in. Keith was someone she rarely saw anyway, but avoiding Zack took more effort. It was not until she went down to breakfast Monday morning that she heard news about Keith.

"Keith is missing," her dad stated as he plopped the newspaper down on the table beside his cup of coffee.

Sophie paused for a minute and regained her composure from the mention of his name.

"Missing? He's probably just drunk somewhere," Sophie took a bite of her toast and brushed the leftover crumbs from her lips as she eased into her chair.

"Yeah, I don't know," her dad murmured.

"I think he's the least of your worries now," Sophie stared down at the newspaper article with the picture of Jerry Martin's car.

"We found his truck. It was parked out by the motel. I think there's something fishy about that woman…Norma Bates and her son," her dad continued.

"Well maybe Keith finally got what he freakin deserves," Sophie grumbled.

Romero squinted his eyes at his daughter. "Something I need to know about?"

"Like what?" she took another bite of her toast.

"I don't know," he took a sip of his coffee.

Sophie took a gulp of milk and focused on her piece of toast.

"Do you ever see Norman at school?" Her dad questioned.  
"I've seen him around. I've seen him hanging around Bradley and also Emma Decody, you know the girl with CF? I guess he's a bit of a lady's man," she murmured jokingly.

"You really think they had something to do with Keith disappearing?" she questioned after a moment of silence.

"I don't know," he murmured.

Sophie plopped her last bite of toast into her mouth as she thought. Maybe Zack made him leave town, she wondered.

"You sure you don't want any toast?" She asked as she got up with her plate.

"Yeah I'm sure. Zack text me and said he was bringing doughnuts over. We have some things to discuss."

Sophie rolled her eyes as she turned her back from her father. "Well, I'll be going then."

"He said he was bringing them for the both of us. He's bring the ones with the chocolate icing that you like," her dad continued.  
"I don't want any," she grumbled. She washed the crumbs off of her plate and sat it in the sink.

"You can ride into town with us? We'll drop you off at school."

"No, Christina is gonna give me a ride," she lied. "Thanks anyway."

She turned back to the table to grab her backpack.

Sophie ignored her dad's lingering glare.

"I'll see you after school," she said quickly. She started towards the door.

"Hey,"

Sophie turned back to face her father. "Yeah?"

"Be careful," her father's face looked tired.

Sophie smiled. "Always. Love you."

"I'm serious," he called after her.

As she shut the front door back behind her, she frowned to herself. What in the world would her father have done if she'd come home that night and told him that Keith Summers had grabbed her along the dock and attempted to pull her to his boat. Sure he had been incredibly drunk and she probably would've been able to get away…

But what would he have said if she told him that Deputy Zack Shelby had been there too, laughing and watching as she struggled to get away, not coming to her aid until she screamed his name, causing him to realize that she wasn't just some random drunk girl. She was the sheriff's daughter.

Sophie pulled her phone from her back pocket and frowned at it. Still no message from Todd. He actually listened to her and stopped trying to apologize. She wasn't sure if she was actually happy about it or not.

She readjusted her blue backpack straps on her back and began walking toward school. She was now in the middle of senior year with no real idea of what she was going to do next. She hated to leave her dad alone. He acted like the toughest and strongest person in the world, but she knew he was still hurting. He buried himself in work, but she was always there for him when he needed to decompress and talk about his day or just go out for a cheeseburger and a milkshake. She'd gotten a lot closer with her dad since her mom's death.

Sophie walked hurriedly so that she wouldn't run into Zack and her dad. She didn't want him to know she'd skipped out on their ride just to walk alone.

As she neared the front gates of school, she saw someone she didn't recognize standing alone. He looked her way and then to the ground. She surveyed his slightly disheveled dirty blond hair and light red flannel shirt beneath a brown jacket.

"Hey," she said nonchalantly as she approached him.

He stopped staring and looked down again, fumbling with the zipper on his jacket.

"You new around here?"

He nodded. "Well not here at __high school__."

She forced a laugh. "I usually recognize pretty much everyone around here."

He nodded as he looked back to the ground.

"But anyway it's nice to meet you. I'm Sophie. And late for class," she said quickly. Almost regretting that she stopped to make conversation with the quiet stranger who wasn't actually a student..

He stared at her for a moment and she raised her eyebrows.

"Alright," she responded when he didn't answer. She turned on her heels and began through the gate when she heard his response.

"I'm Dylan."

She turned back and smiled at him before she headed onto campus.

During lunch, Sophie left school and headed into town with Christina. Her curly black haired friend gossiped the entire way, but Sophie found herself zoning out. She couldn't help but stare out the window, searching for Zack Shelby.

"Hey," Christina popped open her glove box, "Light one for me, will ya?"

Sophie took a quick glance inside and shoved it back with her foot. "Fuck no. You can't smoke it with me in here. If my dad smells weed on me, I'm dead."

Christina laughed a little. "You know your dad doesn't care."

"He does care," Sophie muttered as they neared a red light.

Sophie froze. There he was. He was standing on the sidewalk beside a blonde woman. White Pine Bay was so small, she wasn't surprised that she spotted him on this outing.

"Norma Bates?" she murmured beneath her breath. "What's he doing with her?" she questioned aloud.

They looked as if they were laughing and actually enjoying each other's company. And not as if he was questioning her about Keith Summer's disappearance.

"Huh?" Christina asked. "Norma Bates? That's the woman who reopened that crapshoot of a motel."

"Yeah," Sophie murmured.

"She must have the hots for Deputy hot stuff, huh?" Christina laughed.

"Maybe so," Sophie muttered.

She hadn't told Christina about what happened the night of the party. She hadn't told anyone.

"I can't believe you get to spend time with him all the time," Christina said sadly.

Sophie shook her head and sighed aloud. "He isn't everything you think he is."

"I'd like to get to know him."

"Yeah, whatever, we better get back to school. We're gonna be late for third," Sophie finally murmured.


	3. Chapter 3

The rest of the week, Sophie tried to get back to her normal routine, minus the carpooling with her dad and Zack. She was still avoiding that. But White Pine Bay had been a bustle of activity. Another man was found burned to death, this time hanging, like a public display. Sophie questioned her dad about it one day during dinner and all he had to say about it was that now the normal would be re-balanced. Sophie had a pretty good idea what all that was about. You had to be a newcomer to not know about the drug business in White Pine Bay. It was something that everyone who lived here seemed to know about yet never spoke of.

But more recently, her dad had gotten search warrants to search the house and motel that Keith Summers had owned. She was curious about what had turned up, and what had actually happened to Keith, but her dad's bad mood silently told her that they'd found nothing.

Sophie tried to cheer her dad up by hanging out with him after work Friday. She mentioned making a trip for some takeout and was surprised when he grabbed his keys. They settled on fried chicken and Sophie went in to get it while he sat in the car.

She had just finished paying for her food when she turned and saw someone she vaguely recognized.

"Sophie?"

"Oh, hi," she responded, surprised to see the guy she'd met outside of school again. "Dylan right?"

"Yeah. You're the sheriff's daughter."

"Yeah, guilty," she joked, surprised at his random conclusion. "You been spying on me?"

"No. I've just been around. It's a small town," he smiled as he moved up to the cashier to place his order.

"Yeah. Suffocatingly small," she mumbled as she stepped away to wait for their order.

She tried not to pay him any more attention as she stood to the side with her receipt, but he walked to her side after he paid for his order.

"I didn't mean to call you out like that," he said somewhat awkwardly.

Sophie smiled back at him. "Its fine. Everybody knows I'm the sheriff's daughter. She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.

"I imagine that can be tough sometimes," he responded.

Sophie nodded. "Sometimes."

Silence fell around them for a few minutes. He seemed a little awkward, shy almost.

"So the food's good here?" he asked finally.

"Yeah it's pretty good-"  
"Sophie!" a woman behind the counter interrupted them.

Sophie went to retrieve her food.

"But I better get going. My dad is waiting outside," she said as she passed him, holding up the bag of fried chicken and sides.

"See ya," he responded coolly.

"Who was that you were talking to?" her dad asked as soon as she climbed in and shut the car door.

"Oh, he's just some new guy in town. I met him a few days ago. He was just small talking about how small this town is."

"I recognize some of the guys he's with," her dad mumbled and Sophie raised her eyes up to watch as he climbed inside of a truck with a few men inside. "I'd stay away if I were you."

Sophie fell silent but her dad reiterated.

"I think he's working for Gil," he muttered as they pulled out of the parking lot.

Sophie dropped the conversation. It wasn't like she planned to see him again anyway.

As they pulled back up at their house, Sophie's stomach dropped. Zack's police car was parked out front.

"What's he doing here?" she grumbled, not realizing how rude she sounded.

"He called while you were inside getting the food and I told him to come eat with us," her dad parked the car and looked back at her. "That a problem?"

Sophie regained her composure quickly. "No. I just thought it was going to be the two of us tonight."

She allowed her dad to grab the bag of food and she grudgingly followed him to the front porch. Zack stepped out of his car about the time they passed him.

"That sure does smell good," he announced as he made his way over to the porch, following them.

"Yeah it's been a while since we had you over for dinner," her dad said.

"Hey, Soph," Zack smiled at her as they waited for Romero to unlock the door.

"Hey," she murmured. She immediately looked away from him.

Dinner was awkward as she expected.

Sophie forced herself to sit at the table and Zack sat directly across from her.

She listened to the two of them talk for most of the dinner. She only responded when they tried to include her. She couldn't stop thinking about what Zack had said that night when Keith Summers had grabbed her and before he realized it was her.

 _ _Where you going sweetheart. Aw don't fight.__

Sophie's dad finished eating first, as always, and she watched as he got up to take his place back into the kitchen. As soon as he turned the water on in the sink, she turned to Zack.

"Did you do something to Keith Summers?" she whispered.

"No. I have no idea where he is" he whispered. "Why?"

"I don't know," she responded softly as her dad came back to the table.

Sophie finished eating and then made an excuse to step outside on the porch. She said she was calling Todd. But she hadn't spoken to him since that night he'd dropped her out. She sat on a small stone bench beneath a tree just beyond the porch. It was something her mom had placed there when she was big into gardening.

She was surprised when she heard the front door open just a few minutes later. Zack was leaving. She hadn't expected him to leave so fast. Her dad didn't step outside.

Sophie rose to her feet as Zack made his way towards her.

"Do you think I got rid of him because of what happened the other night?" He asked immediately.

Sophie shrugged.

"I didn't. He made a mistake. He was 's Not a mistake I'd consider worth getting killed over."

"Oh okay," Sophie responded smartly.

" I know you're avoiding me. It's really fucking obvious. I'm really surprised your dad hasn't asked me if I know what is up with you," he said lowly.

Sophie shrugged her shoulders.

"What do you want me to do? I said I was sorry. I did make him leave you alone."

"Just fuck off," she grumbled as she turned away from him and back towards the house.

"Hey," he growled. He reached out and grabbed one of her wrists as if he was going to stop her.

When Sophie's eyes met his, she saw the anger in his.

"Get your fucking hands off me!" she raised her voice a little as she jerked her arm back. She heard the shock and panic in her own voice.

Zack jumped back and held up his hands in surrender.

They both stopped to listen and look carefully to see if Romero had heard from inside, but the front door didn't open.

Sophie almost wished her dad could have witnessed it.

Zack shook his head angrily as he kicked a rock on the ground. "You're really starting to act like a little bitch. Do you wanna stress your dad out more?"

Sophie could feel her face flush with anger. She bit her tongue as she watched him turn and head towards his car. He slammed the door and pulled out of their driveway.


	4. Chapter 4

Sophie eased herself into the seat of one of the swings in the dark playground. She'd snuck out of her window after her dad went to bed. She knew it wasn't exactly safe, but it wasn't the docks. The playground was in a nicer area, and she had brought her pepper spray.

She didn't wanna be in the house but she also didn't want to be alone.

She often came here because it reminded her of her mother. The two of them would walk their dog here sometimes before her mom got sick.

Sophie pulled her phone from her pocket and pressed Christina's name under her recent calls.

It rang for a minute or so.

"Hey!" Christina's bubbly voice mail greeting began and Sophie ended the call before it could continue.

"Ugh."

She dropped her phone back into her lap and stared out into the sidewalks leading to the park. They were lit with lamps every so feet, but the playground itself was tucked into the woods and bushes a little.

She didn't know what she was going to do about Zack. She was seriously thinking about going ahead and telling her dad. Zack was acting completely unreasonable and angry ever since their random meeting. She would have probably spilled all the beans to Christina if she'd picked up the phone.

She knew the two of them couldn't go on like this.

Sophie was leaned over, looking at her feet as she kicked at the gravel beneath her swing when she heard a rustle in the bushes.

"Who's there?" she called out, trying to make her voice sound braver than she was.

She eased her butt from the swing, ready to run if need be. Her encounter with Keith Summers had changed the way she thought about her safety alone and being in the dark.

She gripped her pepper spray that she had latched to the belt loop of her jeans.

Funny enough, Zack had been the one that had given it to her.

She stared out into the bushes as she listened hard.

Would he have followed her? She wasn't sure at this point.

Sophie took a few steps away from the swing.

She was just about to start heading home when a figure stepped from the bushes.

"It's just me."  
Sophie was surprised but not really relieved when she saw Dylan step out of the bushes.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded. She kept a hold on her pepper spray, especially after what her dad had told her about him and who he worked for.

"Nothing. I just needed to clear my head. I could ask you the same thing."

"Yeah me too," Sophie answered.

"My family is overwhelming," he muttered. "I just needed to get away. I didn't think anybody would be here."

"Yeah me neither," she said nervously.

She eyed him as he fumbled with his hands.

"Mind if I sit?"

Sophie paused for a moment. "Go ahead, but my friend is coming to pick me up in just a few minutes," she lied.

He nodded as he eased into the one of the nearby swings.

"I swear I don't know how we keep running into each other. I usually avoid your dad. It's not exactly a good idea for me to be talking with you."

"It's just a small town…My dad told me who you work for though," Sophie murmured as she released the pepper spray at her side.

"He knows?" he asked.

"He knows pretty much everything that goes on in White Pine Bay," Sophie could feel herself relaxing a little. She eased back into her swing.

"Damn," Dylan muttered.

"Trust me, if he wanted, he'd go after the whole operation. But he's got agreements with everybody," Sophie murmured. "Gil knows how it is."

Dylan nodded as if he was thinking.

Silence fell in between them.

Sophie pushed her swing gently with her feet.

"Is this your usual spot?" Sophie questioned.

"I've been here once or twice," he murmured. "Yours?"

Sophie nodded. "Yeah I've been coming here for a while."

"Well, what time is your friend supposed to be coming? It's kinda dangerous out here alone. At night anyway."

"Um…I…lied," she murmured as she looked back at him. She wasn't sure why she suddenly felt comfortable enough to tell him the truth.

He furrowed his eyebrows but then he shrugged his shoulders.

"I get it. I'm a stranger."

"Nothing against you in particular but…"She fell silent. "I've gotta start being more careful."

He watched her for a few minutes before he looked away.

"No offense taken."

Sophie turned her head at the sound of sticks breaking farther out in the bushes.

Dylan turned his head in the same direction.

"Why don't you let me give you a ride to your house?" He said after a few moments.

Sophie opened her mouth but fell silent.

"Uhh…" she trailed off as she thought.

"I have my bike. I can just drop you off. It would make me feel better than leaving you out here alone."

Sophie couldn't help but smile to herself as they rode Dylan's bike. He'd left it parked a ways from the playground. Once she saw it, she vaguely remembered hearing it before he came out of the bushes, startling her.

The cool wind whipped past her body sending her hair everywhere. But it felt good. It felt freeing, and for the first time in a week or so, she felt completely stress free.

Dylan seemed like a nice guy. He had a cold but soft demeanor that seemed different than most of the other guys she'd hung out with.

And he owned a bike and worked for a drug dealer. How was it that he seemed to be the nice 'bad boy'?

She was thrust from her thoughts as the bike slowed.

Sophie looked around nervously as Dylan pulled the bike to the side of the road.

"Why are you stopping here?" She leaned around him so that he could hear her.

"Isn't this Shelby's house?" Dylan asked.  
"Yeah," she answered, confused. He cut the bike off and she turned back to scan his yard for any sign of his car, but it wasn't there.

"I think I just saw my brother."

"What? Where?" Sophie squinted into the darkness around Zack's house. She lowered her feet to the ground.

"On the side there," he pointed as he climbed from the bike.

She began following his lead.

"He's breaking in?""

She shifted her weight nervously as she shivered.

"I'll be right back." He leaned his bike over.

"Wait-" Sophie called out, but Dylan ignored her, hurrying to the darkness that surrounded Zack's house.

Sophie stood frozen. She wasn't sure if she should follow or stay.

She listened for any sound of voices.

When she heard a vehicle coming, her fear became real. It was Zack's police car. She ducked to the ground, hoping that his lights wouldn't wash over her as he turned in his driveway.

"Fuck," she grumbled. She didn't give a rat's ass if someone was breaking into Zack's house, but she wasn't sure what would happen if he caught them.

She stayed low until she heard him open and shut his front door.

Sophie knelt down and picked up a rock. She knew that her dad's car had an alarm that would go off at the slightest touch. It was a sudden reckless decision.

She chucked it and it hit the back glass with a loud thwack, immediately followed by the shrill siren.

Sophie was surprised she hit it the first throw.

She ducked back down.

"Get the fuck out of there, Dylan," she grumbled to herself.

She quickly pushed his bike further into the bushes near the ditch and knelt beside it.

Dylan was at her side in seconds.

His eyes were wide.

"C'mon, hurry lets go,"

"Who the fuck is there?" Zack's voice echoed throughout the yard.

"What about your brother?" Sophie whispered quickly.

"He left," Dylan stood the bike up and she hopped on.

"We have to get the fuck out of here," Her voice came out panicked.


	5. Chapter 5

When Sophie woke up the next morning, she rolled over to check her phone, like always, forgetting for a brief moment that she and Dylan had exchanged numbers when he dropped her off at her house the night before.

 _ _Can we meet somewhere and talk today? -Dylan__

Sophie sat up as she re read the message. Her heart leapt in her chest.

She texted him back and then jumped from her bed to get dressed. It was already 10:00 am.

When Sophie made it downstairs, her dad was washing the dishes from the last few days.

"Hey dad," she stopped beside him to grab a glass that he'd already washed.

"Hey," he tossed a dish towel at her. "Wanna help me dry?"

Sophie poured herself a glass of orange juice.

"Yeah I will…But I'm going to meet Christina for an early lunch here soon," she lied.

She took a sip and sat it back down to pick up the towel.

Her dad turned his head to her. "Where are you two going?"

"I don't know yet, but she has boyfriend drama," she rolled her eyes dramatically. "She needs a shoulder to cry on," she lied.

"I'm glad you don't have that much drama," he handed her a wet pot.

Sophie faked a laugh. If only he really knew.

"Zack text me this morning," her dad began.

Sophie stopped drying as she waited for him to finish.

"Somebody busted the back window out of his cruiser last night right after he got home."

"What?" She tried to act surprised. "Who was it?"

"He doesn't know. But he said he heard a motor bike speed off after he stepped outside."

"Hmm," Sophie hummed.

"He thinks it was busted with a rock."

"That sucks," Sophie muttered.

She made small talk with her dad as she helped him finish drying the dishes. Luckily that was all he said about Zack.

She checked her phone occasionally to see if Dylan had said anything else. He offered to meet her at the park, that way her dad wouldn't be up her ass.

When they finished, she chugged the rest of her orange juice and handed the empty glass to her dad with a smile.

"Alright, get going then so you won't be late.. Be careful. Love you. Call me if you need a ride home or anything," he said as he took it.

Sophie walked to the park quickly. It was about a 15 minute walk there. Dylan was already there when she arrived. She walked over to the swings with her hands in her pockets. He was waiting there with his bike parked nearby.

She couldn't help but feel a little giddy that he wanted to see her again, but she wiped the smile from her face as she approached him.

"Is everything alright?" She asked.

"Yeah.. I just…How well do you know Zack Shelby?"

Sophie was a little taken back. She paused a minute.

"Let's just say me and Zack aren't the best of pals these days," she mumbled. "But you know he's my dad's partner."

He furrowed his eyebrows at her. "Yeah. Norman doesn't like him either."

"Norman Bates is your brother?" Sophie felt her mouth drop open as she made the connection.

"Yeah," he nodded. "Half brother."

"Norma Bates is your mother?"

He nodded. "Unfortunately."

"I don't actually know her," she said quickly. "I just…You don't seem like them."

She immediately thought back to everything her dad had said about Norma and the fact that he'd been investigating and getting search warrants for their house and hotel.

"Yeah. I'm always the odd one out. But Apparently she's sleeping with Zack," Dylan muttered.

"Oh?" Sophie said quickly…"So What was your brother doing in his house?" The gears were turning inside her head.

"He didn't steal anything…if that's what you're wondering. He's not a burglar."

"I really don't care. I was just curious. I saw Zack with Norma one day. In town," she answered.

Dylan fell silent so Sophie moved to sit in the swing beside him. She was definitely curious now.

But she was thoroughly confused how she felt about him now. From what she'd heard so far, Dylan did have a complicated family and life.

"But in all seriousness, You don't trust him either? Zack?" Dylan broke her thoughts.

"I'm glad there's someone else other than me," she murmured. For a brief moment she considered telling him about her run in on the docks with Zack and Keith but she made herself stop.

"Well, you need to watch yourself around him."

Sophie paused. "Why?"

"I've heard some bad stuff about him…I don't know exactly how reliable my source is…but…Something isn't right."

"What did you hear?" she asked curiously. She was on the edge of her seat now.

"I heard…" he paused. "This is gonna sound insane, but…I heard…Well Norman said that he had a woman chained up in his basement and he saw her."

Sophie's mouth dropped open. "What the fuck." She leapt from her seat. "That is insane."

Dylan shrugged his shoulders. "I don't think he would lie about something like that."

Sophie stared back at him as she thought.

"Zack has been acting different lately," she muttered. "But I don't. I can't imagine that."

Dylan shrugged his shoulders. and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Well why are you feeling weird about him?"

"He said some stuff that made me uncomfortable," she murmured as she continued thinking.


	6. Chapter 6

Sophie walked back home after speaking with Dylan as if she was in a daze. She couldn't stop thinking about what he had told her and she wasn't sure what to do with the information.

When she returned home, her dad was gone in his cruiser.

She thought that was a little odd. He was supposed to have the day off.

She settled into the living room recliner and turned on the tv as she waited for him to come home or for him to call her and let her know what was going on.

When he finally did show back up, he looked exhausted. He came inside without speaking to her and kicked his boots off by the kitchen table.

"You got called into work?" she questioned, noticing him in his uniform.

"Yeah, we arrested Norma Bates for the murder of Keith Summers," he murmured.

"Huh?" she questioned. She immediately thought back to Dylan.

"Yeah. She's been booked and everything."

"Why does it even matter that he died. He wasn't a stand up guy," she grumbled as she walked into the kitchen.

"We found evidence that his body was at their motel."

Sophie swallowed hard. So he was really dead.

She wanted to text Dylan and ask him what was going on. Could she have really done it? And if so, did he know about it?

"Oh, shit. Can you do me a favor?" her dad rubbed his head tiredly as he looked down at his phone.

"Hmm?" she asked.

"Could you look in the cruiser and see if Zack left his phone in there? He's texting me from another number. He can't seem to find it."

"Yeah, sure," Sophie slipped on her shoes, trying not to seem eager. She took the keys from her dad and headed outside.

"See if it fell in between the seat and console," he called after her.

"Alright," Sophie let the door close behind her. She kind of hoped it was in there.

Her heart raced a little as she opened the door and leaned over the seat to first look on the floor and then the console. She ran her hand in between the seat and the console.

"Gotcha," she knew what she was feeling was a phone. She'd lost her own phone down there more times that she could probably count.

She pulled it out and then glanced back to see if her dad had stepped outside. She didn't see him.

The phone lit up in her hands and Sophie studied it for a moment.

He had one new text message.

She swiped to the side and groaned.

What is his fucking passcode?

She looked back towards the house.

When she looked back down, she typed in a few random patterns and then really started thinking.

She tried his name, his birthday, then she stopped.

She slowly typed in, "Clem."

The key pad disappeared, revealing his generic, beach wave background.

"How basic can you get," she mumbled to herself. "Really Zack, your dog's name?"

She quickly opened the message. It was from an unknown number.

 _'_ _ _Did you take it to the boat?'__

What was __it__? Possibly the girl Dylan said his brother had seen?

Sophie made sure it was on silent, then she tucked it into the waistband of her black yoga pants.

Zack would know that she had opened the message if she let her dad give it back to him.

She slammed the car door and headed back towards the house.

"I couldn't find it," she told her dad tiredly. "I found this peppermint though," she joked as she tossed it onto the kitchen table.

"He must've left it at the precinct. Thanks. I'll let him know."

Sophie nodded to her dad. She casually went to her room, feeling as thought she was carrying a ticking bomb. She gently closed and locked her door and pulled it from her waistband. She tossed it to her bed and pulled her dark hair into a ponytail. This felt like serious business, breaking into and stealing his phone.

But she was too curious now.

She retyped the passcode and opened up his messages again. The message from a few hours ago was the only message from the unknown number. The rest of the message threads were from names she recognized, mostly people from work that her dad always talked about.

She even searched for Keith's name in his contacts but it wasn't there.

She opened his call log and saw a few calls from an unknown number. They only lasted a few seconds.

Sophie opened up his pictures and swiped through pictures of his dog and some stupid appropriate memes before she gave up and tossed it back onto her bed.

What was so secretive that the number was blocked? And who's boat was __it__ at? Keith's boat?

Sophie pulled her own phone out and called Dylan. She wanted to know what he thought about it or if he had discovered anything else.

She went to straight to voicemail and was unprepared to leave a message.

"Hey, Dylan. I uh…Sorry to bother you but I just found something kinda weird and…I'll call you back later," she cut it short.

He was probably more worried about his mom being arrested than Zack's secretive message.

Sophie sat and stared at the phone sitting beside her. She began to let her mind wander to possible scenarios in which Zack would find out she had it and she hurriedly turned it off. What if he could track it? She wasn't very technologically savvy but she didn't want to risk him finding out that it was in her room.

Sophie slipped it back into the waistband of her pants and pulled her blue school t-shirt down over it to hide it.

Sophie tried to call Dylan again as she walked away from the house. She wasn't sure where she was going to hide Zack's phone and before she knew it, she had walked nearly half the distance to the docks. The sun was beginning to set.

The message she'd read kept repeating in her mind. What if they were talking about the girl that Dylan's brother supposedly found?

She continued towards the docks, trying to gain some courage as she pretended she wasn't headed directly to the spot she vowed to never return to.

She could feel the fear again that she felt when she'd accidentally ran into Zack and Keith.

She reminded herself that Keith was dead. She actually felt a little comfort in that.

But what did Zack take to the boat? As far as she knew, Zack didn't have a boat. He just used Keith's.

Sophie remembered where Keith's boat was. She spotted the name, The Seafarer, and she felt a chill course down her spine.

She looked around the empty docks before she climbed onto the boat. The door looked like it wasn't locked with anything special.

She looked around again before she lifted the latch.

She stepped inside and looked around nervously. It was a tight and junky space. She stepped over a hatch must have led down below and stopped to look around the small cabin.

"This is stupid," she mumbled beneath her breath. She turned on her phone's flashlight but immediately shut it off.

Sophie froze as she heard voices. She could immediately tell that they were getting closer fast.

Shit, Shit, Shit, she thought frantically. She ducked down beneath one of the windows.

"Keith ain't that important. I mean he never was. I've got it under control now here,"

Sophie listened hard. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She recognized that voice. It was Zack.


	7. Chapter 7

"But the motel was an important part of the operation. Now with that crazy woman running the-"

"We can find somewhere else," Zack interrupted the other man.

"So who axed Keith? That crazy woman right?" the other man asked.

"Yeah. But he brought it on himself, man. He was an unreliable piece of shit and he barked up the wrong tree. You know that I can handle this better than him," Zack said.

"Well you're running out of time to find another piece of property. Shipment comes in soon."

"I know."

Sophie froze. What the hell were they talking about? And Norma Bates did actually kill Keith Summers?"

"So you didn't bring her here?" the man questioned.

"I lost my phone," Zack said angrily. So no, I didn't think it was safe to do any more moving around when I couldn't contact you."

Sophie leaned in a little further and heard metal clang on metal beside her. She froze and sank back into hiding. She started to crawl away but stopped herself, praying they wouldn't react to the sound.

"What was that?"

Sophie's stomach dropped as she listened hard for Zack Shelby's reply, but there wasn't one. She cupped her hand over her mouth to stifle her breathing as she laid there in the darkness.

There was silence all around her now, besides the sound of the water on the docks and the boat. She wanted to run.

Could she outrun them? Could she run past them out of the boat and make it?

Sophie finally got up the nerve and peered out of the window She spotted them both. They were both frozen as if they were listening.

She had never seen the older man before. He had light hair and dark glasses.

Sophie shrank back down.

"It came from in there," Zack announced.

Sophie crawled quickly but quietly to the other side of the boat where she had seen another door.

She pushed on it gently but frantically and it creaked open slowly. Thankfully it wasn't even latched.

Sophie hurriedly crawled out and paused on the other side of the boat.

She covered her mouth with her hands again.

Crouched where she was, there was nowhere to go except in the water from this side.

"Got her!"

Sophie tried to scream as two powerful arms grabbed her, but one immediately covered her mouth. The other wrapped around her waist, pushing up into her ribcage and pulling her backwards and out of her hiding spot. She hadn't heard him sneaking up behind her.

"Sophie what the—" Zack began.

"You know her?" the man who held her demanded. He was much stronger than he looked.

She struggled against him as she looked up at Zack.

"She's Romero's daughter for Christ's sake," Zack said quickly.

"Alex Romero?" the man demanded.

"I didn't hear anything," she stammered as he released her mouth to get a better grip on her.

"Help me tie her up. Gag her," the man ordered.

Zack stood frozen.

"I won't tell my dad," she erupted.

"It's too late," he said calmly.

Sophie glanced nervously back to Zack who stood silent but alarmed.

"Get some fucking rope or handcuffs," the man ordered. "We gotta get her inside."

Zack turned and went back inside the boat.

"What are you gonna do? Kill me?" She stammered.

"No, we have a shipment going out in about a week or more," he re-covered her mouth as he dragged her back inside the boat.

Zack glared at the man. "You can't be serious?"

"I think she'd fetch a pretty penny. Throw in the little tidbit that she's the sheriff's daughter-"

"Zack?" she muffled out helplessly.

"This is you damn fault," Zack erupted. "Why are you poking your nose in places it doesn't belong?"

He pulled her hands out in front of her.

Sophie struggled again, but Zack was strong. He began tying her wrists together tightly. Once he was satisfied, he pulled a needle and syringe out as the older man continued holding her. Sophie whimpered at the sight of it.

"This wasn't meant for you," Zack reached for her arm.

The last thing she remembered was feeling the sharp sting of the needle.

Sophie groaned as she woke up sometime later. The ground beneath her was cold and hard. And her hands were tangled in her hair. They were no longer tied. She opened her eyes and tried to get up but couldn't. She tried to move her hands but they felt heavy as if they were weighted down. Her eyes began to adjust to the dim light as she heard his voice.

"Good. You're up. Pick up the pen," Zack ordered.

Sophie groaned again. Her eyes were blurry and her head pounded.

Zack was sitting in a metal chair across the room from her.

"Do you want your daddy to have closure?"

"What?" She slowly sat up and rubbed her face with her hands.

She looked around, unsure of where she was as the events played back in her mind.

"Write what I tell you to write," he rose to his feet.

"What did you give me?" she croaked.  
"Pick up the pen," he said again.

Sophie looked down at it.

"Why—"

"You have to write a letter for your dad."

"No-"

"I thought you might say that. Do you know where you're gonna be going if you don't?"

"Where?" the question tumbled off her tongue but she actually feared the answer.

"To the lowest of the low. They're going to use you for whatever they want."

Sophie's mouth dropped open. "What are you talking about?"

He stared back at her.

Her eyes searched the room around her for any way of escape.

"You really had that girl tied up down here didn't you?" She questioned. But she already knew the answer.

She picked the pen up unsurely. "You can't do this to me."

There was a single piece of paper beside beside her.

"Daddy, I know that this wasn't the right way to go about this, but I need to finally get away from White Pine Bay. I've been here too long. You know that I was going to leave here but then after mom died-"

"No," she snapped.

"Listen to me. You've got me in a lot of trouble. We can do this my way or their way. Now I didn't want anything to have to happen to you but you've kinda forced my hand here."

Sophie picked the pen back up. "Daddy will never stop looking for me."

"It doesn't matter. He'll never be able to find you," Zack muttered.

"I trusted you," Sophie whimpered as she stared into his solemn face.

"But ever since mom died, I stayed with you because I didn't have another choice-" he continued.

"I can't write that. It'll kill him," Sophie laid the pen down. "And I'll be no one's slave."

"You don't really have a choice now," she could tell he was getting irritated.

"I'd rather die."

"Well they're not gonna let that happen. And you know too much to be free."

"Zack, you can't do this to me. You've been coming to my house for the past five years. You've helped me with math homework. You bring me doughnuts with chocolate icing.." she cried out desperately.

"Sophie, he said warningly.

"What are you involved in?" She demanded.

He swallowed hard.

"I think that you know what kind of business this is."

Sophie felt more fear and anger bubble to the surface. She chucked the pen as hard as she could at his face. It bounced off of his chest and hand that he used to block it.

"You brat,"

He pulled a knife from his pocket as he approached her. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way." He flicked it open.

"Are you gonna give me a big nasty scar?" she scoffed. "Won't that make me undesirable?"

Zack gritted his teeth until his jaws clenched.

He lunged for her, yanking her nearly to her feet by her t-shirt. She shrank back as he used the knife to slice down the middle of it.

It happened so fast that she barely had time to react. He then let her fall back to the floor. Sophie hurriedly pulled the pieces of her shirt back together to hide her chest and stomach.

She scooted farther away from him and back up against one of the concrete walls.

She watched him, too petrified to move, as he breathed in and out deeply, as if he was regaining his composure.

He picked the pen back up off of the floor and held it out to her.

"Write it," he said sternly.

Sophie stayed frozen. She didn't want to get up and move closer to him.

"Zack please stop," she finally murmured softly.

He stared back at her, his face still hardened and cold.

"Please," she whispered helplessly.

He waved the pen at her again.

Sophie was about to get up to get it when she heard a dog barking outside. This made her sure that she had to be in his basement. It had to be his dog.

"Help!" she erupted. She felt as thought it was her only chance. "Help I'm in the basement!"

Sophie didn't see Zack as he quickly approached her, but she felt the pain when his palm connected with her cheek in a loud smack.

She crumpled back to the floor and he landed right on top of her, pushing her to the floor on her stomach as he fought her to pull her hands behind her back as if she was just a criminal in White Pine Bay that he was trying to arrest.

"Stop!" she continued shrieking. "Help!"

"Nobody can hear you down here," he growled in her ear.

She felt the cool metal of handcuffs on her wrists and allowed her body to go limp beneath his when he clicked them closed. She sobbed against the cold floor as he used his pocket knife to cut the rest of her shirt off. She wasn't sure what he was doing, but he soon shoved a wad of the material into her mouth, forcing it deep inside to the point where she felt she may choke.

She heard him breathing heavy as he stepped away from her.

"Jesus Christ, I'll be right back," he grumbled.

Sophie wiggled and tried to slip her hands from the cuffs. She rolled to her back and sat up, frantically searching the basement. He had shut the heavy looking door behind him and she couldn't hear anything going on outside. The dog had hushed.

He returned in a few minutes.

"There wasn't anybody out there. She was probably just barking at a car passing by."

"Sophie I've got so much shit going on right now. You have no fucking idea how stressed I am."

Sophie swallowed hard. She wished she would have told Dylan more in the voicemail she'd left now. She wished she would have told Christina or her dad.

She shivered. She could feel chill bumps on her body. She suddenly felt so vulnerable, sitting there in her light pink bra and black yoga pants.

He pulled his metal chair closer to her and sat down.

He stared at her for what felt like an eternity before he spoke again.

"You've really grown up a lot."

Sophie could feel her jaws starting to ache from waded t-shirt in her mouth. She tried to ignore his words.

"You're not still a virgin are you?

Sophie didn't like where this conversation was headed. She didn't shake her head or nod. She sat frozen.

"I kinda figured you and Todd had been screwing around. Was I right?"

Sophie looked away from him.

"I'm gonna take this out of your mouth," Sophie flinched when he approached her.

Her mouth was dry and she moved her jaws, trying to stop them from aching.

"Zack, Please," she whimpered. "Don't let him send me away."

"I'm sorry." He gently reached up to touch the welt he had left across her face.

She squeezed her eyes shut.

"My hands are tied at this point. I need you to write this."

"Well I can't do that with my hands like this," she murmured.

He pulled the key from his pocket and knelt down beside her.

"If you try anything again, you're gonna wish you were dead."

When he freed her hands and handed the writing materials back to her, Sophie began writing.

"Write neater. Don't you try to change your handwriting. If he doesn't look at it and know it's yours then your poor dad might be having an accident here soon."

Sophie froze as she glared back up at him.

"Can I have another piece of paper?" she asked nervously.

"Dammnitt Sophie!" He pushed his chair backwards angrily as he got up.

For a moment, she was afraid he might hit her again, but he snatched the paper from her and balled it up.


	8. Chapter 8

"And Ya know, I completely forgot to ask you, how the hell did you have my phone?" Zack held it up about the time she finished writing what he told her to.

"I found it," she murmured. She looked back down at the paper. Her dad was going to be so heartbroken when he read what she had written.

Zack knew exactly what to say to make it sound believable. He'd been around their family through her mother's sickness and death. And he knew the fights she and her father had during those hard times.

"How were you on to me?" he questioned.

"I just wasn't sure what was going on" Sophie murmured. She allowed the pen to fall from her fingers.

She knew that she had to escape somehow. She was running out of time. She could feel it.

"Well, Abernathy took __your__ phone so that your service can't be traced anywhere close to here," Zack changed the subject.

Sophie swallowed hard.

"We're gonna need your passcode, though."

Sophie looked back up to last bit of fight left in her screamed "no" in her mind.

"Soph…You don't want your dad to get hurt do you?" he spoke as if he could read her mind. "I mean what if he had some sort of accident-"

"It's…It's the last four of my social," she murmured defeatedly. She clenched her jaws tightly.

"You're positive?" he questioned.

"Yes," she snapped coldly.

"Alright, I'm gonna trust you on this. I've gotta run a few errands. I'll let him know what it is and it better be right. Give it to me."

"4 5 5….2," she grumbled hesitantly.

Sophie watched as he typed it into his phone and then replaced his phone in his pocket. He took a few steps away and she watched him reach for a dark bottle and cloth that she hadn't noticed sitting on an old wooden shelf behind him.  
"Wait, Zack," she knew what it was. She wasn't stupid. She'd seen enough movies to know.  
"No, No, Please no," she cried out as he took a few steps towards her.

She climbed to her feet, wringing her hands nervously.

"This is going to be better than the other stuff, I promise," Zack stated as if he was trying to comfort her. "You're just going to go to sleep for a little while."

He walked towards her as he turned the bottle over into the cloth.

"Please just let me stay awake," she mumbled nervously. She was honestly scared of him now. He had shown her just how crazy he was the last few hours.

"Soph, you've already proven to me why I can't do that," he moved closer to her and she darted away from him. He didn't chase her, though. He stopped and glared at her. She froze against the opposite wall.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way," his jaws tensed.

Sophie looked around nervously. She was only a few feet away from the door now. But The latches on the door looked too complicated to open within a few seconds. And she knew a few seconds would be all she had.

"Come here to me," he ordered.

Sophie sensed the anger in his voice. She darted for the door in one last desperate attempt. She heard his groan of anger behind her and knew that his fingertips had to be only inches away from reaching her.

She slammed her body into the door and reached up to fumble with the latches as he grabbed her hair, yanking her backwards against him.

"I don't know why I expected anything less of you," he growled aloud as he pressed the cloth to her mouth and nose clumsily. She reached up to try and yank it away, but she felt herself slipping away quickly.

* * *

Sophie was dreaming about waking up in her own bed with her soft gray comforter brushing against her arm as she stretched and opened her eyes to see the sun dancing through the cracks in her purple curtains.

But when she actually opened her eyes, she realized it was Zack, gently touching her shoulder, tracing his fingertips across her. And she wasn't laying on her soft comforter and sheets, she was back lying on the hard concrete floor of his basement with only a ratty blue blanket now beneath her.

She gasped and scurried away from him, back up against the wall.

"I didn't mean to scare you."

Sophie wrapped her arms around herself, covering her bare skin and bra, trying to make herself smaller against the wall.

She wondered how long she'd been asleep.

"I do feel really bad about this. Romero is gonna be destroyed."

Sophie felt her throat ache as Zack propped himself up on his hands.

"You don't have to do this," she stammered when she finally found her voice.

"And you're not the usual girls we have. You're gonna stand out, especially if he says you're the sheriff's daughter. We usually have those Asian girls that can't even speak English. They're easy to keep control of. But I don't know where he's gonna take you."

Sophie shuddered. "How did you get involved in this?" She wanted to keep him talking if she could.

Zack smiled and shook his head. "I started out as a customer."

Sophie scrunched her face in disgust.

She shivered and met his eyes again.

"Could I have a shirt or something? It's cold," she whimpered.

His demeanor seemed to change a little. "I'll grab something the next time I go upstairs."

Sophie nodded, trying to seem cooperative.

She was still trying to formulate some kind of plan in her mind. She'd been so close to telling Dylan where she would be and had almost told him about her encounter with Zack and Keith Summers.

"But enough about me, You really gave it up for that loser?" Zack questioned, breaking her thoughts.

"What?" Sophie was confused at first but then she remembered.

"Todd."

"Nnno. Someone else before him," she murmured, a lie.

He tilted his head and smiled.

"Are you sure?"

Sophie nodded, unsure of what the best answer was to even give him on that subject.

"I watched you grow up. I really did used to think of you as like a little sister. I didn't have any siblings," he murmured. "But you really have grown up."

Sophie could feel herself growing more and more uncomfortable with where the conversation was headed.

"I don't wanna talk about that," Sophie interrupted. "Can you tell me what day it is now?"

"I'm just saying…If you haven't, I could make it easy on you the first time."

Sophie's body went numb.

"No stop. I'm not a virgin," she spat. Which wasn't a lie. She had slept with Todd a few unexciting times. He really was her first.

He sighed and sat back on his butt, stretching his legs out before him.

"I just thought you would rather be with someone you know the first time."

Sophie lowered her head as she started to cry. "You're a psychopath. I can't believe that they let you have a badge and a gun."

"Hey,"he leaned in to tilt her chin up a little.

He leaned in closer to her. When she realized what he was going to do, she froze.

He pressed his lips against hers. Once. Twice. Three times, letting them linger there a little longer each time.

Sophie turned her head slowly, trying not to make him angry.

Disgust swirled in her stomach.

"Please stop," she whispered. She could feel her body beginning to shake.

"You sure have lost your spunk," he chuckled softly."I didn't think you'd break that easy."

He ran a few fingers through her tangled hair and tucked it behind her ear.

He ran his fingers down her chest, gently tracing the rounding part of her breasts over her bra.

Sophie whimpered and he laughed.

He climbed to his feet, leaving her there.

Sophie felt broken. How could she have trusted him for so long yet he was so close to doing this to her.

He pulled his phone back out of his pocket and looked down at it.

"Fuck. Norma wants to come here instead of her place. I'm gonna have to take you somewhere else," Zack said as he looked up from his phone.

Sophie looked up, thankful that he had found a distraction, but worried about what his next move would be.

"Why did Norma kill Keith?"Sophie demanded suddenly, sensing her chance to get answers.

"Well, he got grabby with the wrong woman," Zack muttered.

Sophie looked back at him in confusion.

"Norma has spunk," he added. "I find that spontaneity rather attractive."

He smiled at her and then turned his back to her.

"I'm gonna have to give you something a little stronger this time."


	9. Chapter 9

In the darkness, in between bouts of crying since she'd woken up, Sophie fumbled with her hands, trying to break them free from the rope binds that kept them positioned behind her back. She was in an unbelievably tight and cramped place. She'd woken up there. The last thing she remembered was sitting there talking with Zack. She was having a hard time keeping her breathing under control. It was like she was buried alive, Everything around her was dark and quiet and it was hot inside the small space. She felt as though she was waiting to run out of air.

She banged on the wall and it sounded almost metal. It echoed. That gave her a little comfort that she must not be buried alive. Also, she'd been able to climb to her feet. She was afraid to call out for help, though. What if Zack or that other creepy guy was there waiting to see how she'd act. What if she was just in a closet?

Sophie still felt groggy and so confused. She felt as though she was struggling to hold onto consciousness in the darkness.

How could this be happening? She wondered what time it was or even what day it was. How long had she been gone? Did her Dad have the letter that Zack made her write yet?

Sophie froze. She heard a thud that hadn't been her. Her breath hitched in her throat as the footsteps grew louder.

"Check around there," a mumbled voice broke her thoughts.

"I thought I heard something," Sophie listened hard as she made out the words.

"Help!" Sophie called out, surprised at how weak and slurred her own voice sounded.

"Help me, please!"

There was a loud banging and metal against metal sound right beside her that made her ears ring and her head pound, sending her back down to her knees in the small space. Even her own voice had echoed inside with her. She finally opened her eyes and a bright light and cool fresh air poured into the small space.

"Oh my God, she's here!" a girl's voice called out.

"Oh my God, Norman!" the girl raised her voice again as Sophie squinted up at the blinding light. She slowly rose to her feet.

"What?" the male voice asked.

"It's Sophie Romero!" Sophie tried to regain her footing as she fell forwards and stumbled against the girl who recognized her.

She already felt safer at the mention of her name.

"Are you okay?" the girl lowered her to the ground gently.

"The light is too bright," Sophie choked out and the light went out.

"Shine it that way," the girl snapped.

"Romero's daughter?" the male voice repeated. "Sheriff Romero?"

Sophie suddenly felt as if she had a chance. She focused her gaze on the girl, trying to see who she knew should have been familiar to her.

"Emma," Sophie choked out her name as soon as she recognized the girl she knew from school.

"I don't understand. There weren't any white girls in the sketchbook," Norman murmured.

Emma worked to untie her hands quickly.

"Oh my God, Shelby is so sick!" Emma took off her soft jacket and wrapped it around her bare shoulders, covering her bra once she had freed her hands.

"Where am I?" Sophie choked out. She searched the darkness around them.

"Keith Summer's boat," Norman answered.

Sophie knew she should have known. She looked down at the marks the rope had left on her wrists as the beam from the flashlight illuminated them.. She rubbed them gently.

"Are you okay?" Emma questioned.

Sophie tried to speak but her words came out slurred.

She felt so weak. She could barely see straight.

She was trying to say they had to leave when she was interrupted.

"Norman, we have to call the police! "We have to call Romero."

"Wait. No. We have to show her to my mom. My mom has to know how dangerous he is," Norman said quickly.

Sophie closed her eyes. She didn't care where she was going as long as she was getting away from the boat and Zack.

She felt herself fading as Emma and Norman struggled to lift her from the ground. Whatever Zack had been giving her had made her feel incredibly weak.

* * *

"Honey,"

Sophie opened her eyes and stared up into Norma Bates' face. She jumped slightly. She assumed she must have passed out again.

"Are you okay?" Norma asked softly. The woman had a warm, wet wash cloth, gently dabbing her face with it, wiping at the very sore area on her cheek and mouth where Zack had hit her earlier. She winced.

"I'm sorry," Norma said kindly.

"This isn't the girl I told you about in his basement. But he kidnapped her too! Like I said, and this is Sophie Romero!" Norman erupted from the doorway.

Sophie looked his way. He had a stack of towels in his hands.

"Romero's daughter? Fuck, why didn't you say who she was! I do not need her on my property! Like I need more issues with her dad," Norma raised her voice. She stood to her feet.

Sophie could feel fear rising in her throat. She needed someone on her side.

"Wait, Zack kidnapped me because I found out about his and Keith Summer's business," she choked out as she tried to sit up. The room spun around her but she made herself push through it.

"What kind of-"  
"Sex trade!" Emma declared.

"Wait," Norma held out her hands to silence everyone. "Zack kidnapped __you__? I've seen you and him together on a regular basis around town."

Sophie nodded and sat up a little further. Her head ached, but she pushed herself up onto the pillows.

"He put me in his basement and then in Keith Summer's boat. They were going to ship me off somewhere," She murmured.

"We have to call her dad," Emma said seriously.

"She's in no condition to talk to the cops. Listen to her, she's not making any sense," Norma muttered.

"No, I'm serious," Sophie responded. "I need to get home and check on my dad," she attempted to slip her legs off the bed but stopped as Emma spoke.

""Who's here?"Emma called out suddenly.

Sophie watched nervously as Emma peered out the window.

"I think it's….It's just Dylan," she answered her own question and everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

Sophie relaxed back onto the bed.

"Who called him?" Norma asked.

"I did," Norman answered.

Norma paused with her hands on her hips, looking towards the door.

Emma opened it and motioned for Dylan to enter.

"Hurry," she called out.

Dylan met her eyes immediately. "Sophie?"

Sophie forced a weak smile. She was partly embarrassed that this was the way she met his family and even that this was how she saw him again.

"Zack Shelby kidnapped Romero's daughter just like the girl in his basement! It's no telling what he was gonna do to her-" Emma exploded before Sophie could respond.

Dylan stared at Sophie wide eyed.

Everything was happening so fast that Sophie was having a hard time following it. She was still moving and thinking slowly.

"Did you guys call Romero?" Dylan said quickly.

Sophie sighed in relief. She desperately wanted someone to call him and check on him.

"Wait. First we need the belt. If we accuse Shelby, he can turn it against us, right?" Norma questioned. "Romero is already against us."

Sophie stared back at Dylan. She still felt like she had not control over her situation. What belt were they talking about?

"Yeah…"Dylan finally answered. "Stay here. We're gonna go find the belt. Are you okay?" he questioned her as he moved closer. "You'll be safe here."

Sophie nodded. "But he's probably gonna be looking for me-"

Dylan paused for a moment. He stared back at her as if there was something else he had to say, but wasn't sure if he wanted to say it or not.

"Sophie….I…I should've answered my phone," he murmured softly. "I didn't know you were going after Shelby. I shouldn't have brought up what Norman saw."

Sophie shook her head. "This isn't your fault- I shouldn't have even…"

"Come on Dylan," Norman interrupted. "Let's go."

"Wait no," Norma snapped. "Norman you're not going!"

Dylan reached out to touch Sophie's hand, but he only let it linger for a moment.  
Sophie was shocked, but he was gone as quickly as he had touched her and her attention was drawn back to Norma. She began hysterically yelling at her younger son as she followed them outside.

Emma stayed inside with Sophie and sighed aloud as Norma chased her sons outside. "They are really good people," she murmured as she returned her attention back to Sophie.

Sophie lowered her face to her hands tiredly.

"I'd been suspecting that Zack wasn't the great guy he's made out to be," Sophie murmured. "I'm so stupid."

"I'm glad we found you," Emma rested her hand on Sophie's knee tenderly.

"Have you seen my dad today?" Sophie couldn't stop thinking about him.

Emma turned her head as if she was thinking.

"Could you check on him for me? I don't want him to see me like this." Sophie finally murmured. "But I've gotta make sure he's okay. Zack made me write a letter and he said he was going to give it to him so that he'd think I ran away from home," Sophie knew that she must sound crazy and frantic, but she was.

"Uhhh," Emma looked back her as she chewed at her bottom lip.

Sophie wanted to just go herself. She lifted her arm and rolled up the sleeve of Emma's soft, light blue jacket to see her arms. As she assumed, there were already bruises littering her skin where Zack had injected her with whatever had incapacitated her.

"Could you just drive me?" Sophie eased herself off the bed.

"I could check and see if he's home," Emma suddenly offered.

"Do you know if he's looking for me?" Sophie questioned nervously. She re covered her arms and looked back up at her.

"I haven't heard, but I'm sure he is. When did officer Shelby take you?"

Sophie thought hard. "I think it was Saturday night."

"It's Monday night," Emma murmured. "I'm sure he's tearing the town up looking for you."

Sophie frowned. "He's gotta be so confused."

"I'll check and see if he's at your house, okay?" Emma offered.

Sophie felt herself perk up. "Please. Could you tell him that you saw me in town if he asks you where I am. Tell him I'm coming home."

"Here, You can wash up in there before you head home," Emma offered as she pointed to the bathroom of the motel room. Norman brought in some fresh towels. I'll get Norma to bring you some of her clothes. "Unless…Do we need to take you to the hospital? Do we need evidence…"

"No. I don't need to go to the hospital," Sophie said quickly. She knew what Emma was suggesting.

"I know you just want to get home," Emma murmured. "But we're trying to keep everybody safe. I"ll be back, okay?"

Sophie watched as Emma wheeled her oxygen tank out the door.

Sophie wasted no time in sliding herself off the bed. As soon as she was on her feet, the room began spinning and she leaned back against it. She reached down to touch a tear in her black yoga pants, just above her right knee.

She still couldn't believe all of this was happening. She finally stood back up as a commotion broke outside.

"Zack's back?" Norma called out.

Sophie entire body went numb.

Dylan poked his head inside. "Hide!" he hissed.

Sophie ran towards the only place she could think of. She shut the bathroom door behind her and looked to the window.

She knew it was too small to fit herself through.

She heard the muffled voices of Zack and Norma in the room.

Sophie caught sight of her scared and bruised face in the mirror. Her hair was matted and frizzy around her face. And her lip was cut. She gently and quietly picked up the back of the toilet lid. She felt so weak that she struggled to lift it.

"Why the hell are you barging in here like this?" Norma demanded.

"Why are you being so protective, Dylan?" she heard Zack's voice. "Why are you all being so weird? Would Sophie Romero happen to be here? That's right. I saw that the two of you have been texting and calling lately."

"Hey, man-" Dylan called out.

The bathroom door burst open and Sophie swung the heavy toilet back as hard as she could.

"Fuck!" She felt it connect with Zack's head or shoulder. She wasn't sure, but she released it and bolted out of the door, nearly running into Dylan who was on his way in.

He grabbed her by the arm, pulling her out into the night.

"Freeze everybody!"

Sophie's body collided with Dylan's. He seemed to understand the gravity of Zack's order more quickly than she did.

Sophie looked ahead at Norma and Norman's wild eyes. She slowly turned back towards Zack, following Dylan's lead.

"I know who you work for," Zack called out to Dylan. He was breathing heavy. He had a cut on above his eye and was squinting, from her blow she assumed.

Sophie looked back to Dylan nervously.

"Why don't you take your gun out now. Two fingers on the handle, nice and slow. Sit it on the ground and Everybody take a step back," Zack ordered.

Sophie felt Dylan's grip tighten on her.

"I don't' know what you all think is going on here," Zack murmured.

"I think we all know, now," Dylan muttered.

"Your gun," he ordered again.

Sophie watched Dylan slowly remove his gun and sit it on the ground.

She gritted her teeth.

"I didn't realize that I was such a popular topic to talk and text about," he raised his eyebrows and Sophie could tell that it was direct towards her.

Sophie could hear Norma's panicked breathing and slight cries behind her.

"We're gonna take a little walk up to the house and have a little chat," Zack ordered.

"Go," he quickly stooped to pick up Dylan's gun and place it in the waistband of his pants.

"Let's go!"

Sophie, Dylan, Norman, and Norma began walking slowly. Sophie wondered if Dylan had any sort of plan.

"Spread out. All of you," Zack ordered.


	10. Chapter 10

"What are we gonna do….God, I cannot believe this is happening," Zack rambled breathlessly.

Sophie watched him nervously. He was pacing now. And had forced them to all have a seat at the kitchen table after he pranced them inside.

Sophie kept catching Dylan's eyes but couldn't see any sign of what he wanted to do. She was seated directly across from him with Norman on her left and Norma on her right.

"Zack, just Stop. We're not gonna say anything," Norma sounded calm and collected but her eyes told a different story.

"Just shut up!" he screamed at her, quickly pointing the gun in her direction.

Shocked, she sank back into her chair.

Silence fell around them and Sophie stared ahead at Dylan, afraid to look at Zack behind her.

She wasn't sure how they were going to get out of this. But it was four against one.

Zack finally stepped around the table so that he was in Sophie's line of sight and she swallowed hard when their eyes met.

"First it was Sophie!" he pointed his gun at her. "Now, all of you! Thinking you're a band of heroes or something."

Sophie tried to regain her composure as he walked back around to touch the gun to her head

"This is all your fault, Sophie. I've known you for years. You were like a little sister to me."

Sophie saw panic wash across Dylan's face, but he stayed frozen. No one moved.

Sophie held her breath, expecting any second to be the end. She finally closed her eyes.

Just months ago while sitting at the table eating dinner with her dad and Zack, she would have laughed if someone told her Zack would kill her one day. He was White Pine Bay's golden boy, the star football player in his graduating class, the Deputy who walked little old ladies across the street and gave her rides to school and laughed with her about her favorite tv shows and brought her chocolate covered doughnuts. He was the one who sat beside both she and her father during her mother's funeral, But also the one who laughed when Keith Summers attacked her and then the one who locked her in his basement and made crude statements to her and hit her and threatened to sell her to human traffickers.

When he removed the gun from her temple, she opened her eyes and spoke.

"Nobody would do this to their little sister. You're just as bad as Summers was," Sophie spat, trying to sound braver than she was. "I never thought you would be this sick."

Zack faked a laugh. "You had to stick your little nose in places it doesn't belong! You of all people should know that that is not how things work around here. That's how you get into trouble," Zack rambled. "And guess what, now you're in trouble and you've dragged all of them down with you."

"What are you gonna do? Kill us all?" Norma demanded.

"Not all of you. I still have to put forth my side of the deal," Sophie turned her head and

His eyes met hers.

"So I guess the story will be that uh…," Zack started pacing again. "You all and your bat shit crazy family kidnapped Sophie because she's Romero's daughter and yall are pissed that he's coming for you for murdering Keith…" Zack shook the gun at Norma as he spoke. "I happened to come by and found her blood and some of her clothes-I knew she was missing-"

"No one will believe that!" Norma shouted. "Why would we-"

"I tried to save her but when I started searching for her here, it was apparent she was already gone," Zack ignored Norma. "You dumped her body somewhere like you did Keith's. Except this time, Sophie's body wont be found. Because she'll be gone far away."

Sophie shook her head incredulously at the lies Zack was piecing together.

Sophie thought back to Emma. Thank goodness she'd gotten free. She would tell her dad the real story.

"Zack, seriously, no one is going to say anything. Tell him, Dylan?" Norma continued.

"Yeah…Yeah man, you don't have to do any of this," Dylan finally responded. "Sophie isn't a threat to you-"

"Yes she is! I saved her from Summers when she was shit faced drunk and that wasn't good enough for her!"

Sophie could feel the situation quickly becoming more and more out of their control.

"You didn't save me because you were a good person," Sophie was trying to keep him talking.

"You saved me because I'm the sheriff's daughter and you couldn't technically touch me."

Zack stopped and stared back at her. His chest rose and fell dramatically.  
"Oh you think I can't touch you?"

"Look man, I get it," Dylan spoke back up. "We're both in businesses that not a lot of people understand.

Zack's face broke into a smile.

"You like her. Is there a little crush going on here?"

Dylan fell back silent as if he was rethinking his approach.

"She's cute. Isn't she?" Zack asked as he stepped back up to the back of Sophie's chair. She could hear him fumbling with something but didn't turn around.

"Here, cut yourself."

Sophie finally turned. "What-"

"I need some of your blood here. You know what, nevermind, hold out your arm." He had a kitchen knife in one of his hands, the other still held the gun.

"No-" Sophie choked out. She got up from her chair to back away from him but he shook the gun at her.

"Hey-" Dylan spoke up again, trying to divert attention back to him.

"You shut up! Your little girlfriend is about to be someone else's toy."

"Hold out your arm," He ordered again, more sternly.

Sophie stood still.

Zack pulled the trigger without warning and Sophie shrieked and collapsed to the floor as the gunshot exploded in the room and plates on the wall behind her shattered.

He pulled her back up by a handful of her dark hair before she had time to recover and she felt the slice of the knife against her wrist.

There was commotion behind her and Zack shoved her back towards the table as she reached to cover the now dripping slice across her wrist. She gasped in pain as her vision blurred. She sank back into her chair helplessly, unable to focus on anything but the pain. She barely looked down at it but just feeling it beneath her palm, it felt huge.

"Everybody back up and take your seat again."

She looked up. Dylan and Norma had both leapt from their seats.

Zack held the bloodied knife in one hand waving it to show them.

"There," he stated simply."That's all I needed."

"She's gonna bleed to death," Norma stated. "Let me get her a dish towel."

"I didn't go deep enough for that-"

Norma started towards the drawer behind her and Zack rushed forward and slapped her hard across the face.

"What did I tell you?"

"You're so chicken shit you only hurt women, huh?" Dylan erupted.

Sophie was helplessly watching the interaction between the three of them when Norman flew up from his seat.

Zack hadn't seen him coming, and Norman slammed him hard against the row of cabinets. Glass shattered and Zack threw Norman towards the other side of the room.

Sophie saw Dylan rush forward and scoop up the pistol Zack had dropped and she jumped from her seat.

Dylan immediately shot at Zack and Zack darted down the hallway for cover.

Norma dove over Norman who was lying still on the floor.

Zack returned a few shots from the hallway.

"Sophie you get down too!" Dylan ordered.

Sophie dropped to her knees.

"Oh here's the heroooo!" Zack called from the hallway.

She crawled towards Norma and Norman as Dylan and Zack continued returning shots.

"Are you okay?" Norma was shaking Norman gently but he wasn't moving.

Norma grabbed a dish towel hanging on the lower cabinet handle and tossed it to Sophie.

She wrapped the large cut and then used her mouth to tie the white towel in a quick knot. She hissed as the rough material pressed against her arm.

Sophie looked back up in time to see Dylan raise up as a gunshot exploded from the hall. Dylan fell backwards holding his shoulder. He let out a yell of pain.

"Dylan!" she screamed.

She started to crawl towards him when Norma grabbed her arm.

"Come on!" Help me get him up."

"She pulled away from her. We can't just leave Dylan!"

"I'm fine," Dylan gritted through his teeth. He raised back up and shot again, this time down the hallway.

Zack yelled back in pain and Dylan rushed towards the sound.

Sophie climbed to her feet, frozen and unsure of how to help.

Norma began dragging Norman out of the kitchen on her own.

Gun shots exploded as she saw Dylan rush up the stairs.

"Shit," she looked around quickly and grabbed a large blue vase sitting nearby.

"Hey Zack?" she caught his attention for a brief moment and hurled the vase at him. He growled as he ducked and stumbled up the staircase anyway, chasing after Dylan.

"Fuck no," Sophie started up the staircase herself but then stopped. She had no weapon.

"Come on!" Norma screamed to her. She was at the door now, dragging Norman out of the house.

"Dylan he's coming!" Sophie screamed.

Sophie was terrified. There was silence upstairs. The only sounds for minutes were the groans and pleas of Norma trying to get Norman to get up so she could get him away from the house.

She heard car doors slam outside and her mouth fell open. Would they really just leave?

Sophie reached down to squeeze the towel on her arm. It was turning bright red.

Three gunshots exploded from upstairs, finally breaking the silence.

"Dylan!" Sophie screamed. She was about to dart upstairs herself when Zack appeared on the stairwell.

"No!" she wailed.

She was about to run, but then she saw the blood.

Zack stumbled down the stairs as if in a daze. His eye was a bloody hole.

Dylan appeared at the top of the stairs behind him.

"I shot him in the head," he stammered quickly. "And the chest."

"Get out of the way!" Dylan ordered as Zack nearly fell.

Sophie darted back into the kitchen, using the wall as cover to peek around.

Zack stumbled to the front door and stepped outside, completely ignoring the both of them.

"What the hell?" Sophie crept back towards the stairs.

Dylan looked just as confused as she. "We gotta stop him."

Sophie followed Dylan as he hurried after him.

Once outside, she had to jog to keep up with Dylan. She saw Zack fall going down the long steps leading from the house and he didn't get back up.

"Jesus Christ," she mumbled beneath her breath. "Oh my God." She was still trying to process everything that had happened the last half hour and especially the last few minutes.

Dylan was out of breath as he stopped a few feet away from Zack's body. She tore her eyes from his still, bloody form and looked at Dylan's bleeding shoulder.

"We need to get you to the hospital," she blurted out.

"You too," he said quickly, pointing to the red soaked towel still tied to her wrist.

"Ohhhh," Norma was crying as she hurried away from their car and up the steps towards them.

Norma wrapped them both in a hug.

Sophie winced as she brushed against her arm.

"We're safe," Dylan sighed aloud.

Sophie let out a light sob as she buried her face into Norma's shoulder.

Sirens started in the distance and Norma pulled away as the police cars made their way up the highway to the motel.

"I'm going to get Norman," she finally stepped way from them and hurried back towards the car.

"Are you really okay?" Sophie returned her attention to Dylan.

He nodded to her.

"We're all gonna be okay," he responded.

Sophie nodded as three police cars pulled in.

She immediately recognized her father's and started down the steps to meet him.

She watched as her father stepped from his police car.

"Daddy!" she hurried to him, leaving Dylan standing alone near Zack's body.

"What the hell is going on here?" Her father looked shocked to see her. He reached for her arm and immediately pulled out his walkie talkie. "We need an ambulance at the Bates Motel. Highway 88. Pronto." He shoved it back into his belt holster and looked back down at her arm.

"He's dead now," she said quickly as the other officers drew their weapons behind her father.

He wrapped both hands around her wound tightly. "Who? Who did this to you?"

"Zack Shelby," she turned and nodded towards his body lying on the pavement.

Dylan shifted his weight uncomfortably on the steps

Her dad's eyes widened.

He motioned for the other officers to stand down.


End file.
